Upland Unified reviewing possible cuts to address financial crisis

UPLAND -- The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees has been made aware of several ways to save a necessary $9 million in the next fiscal year.

Interim Superintendent Sherri Black reviewed a list of suggestions made by employees to the district's fiscal advisor Michele McClowry to identify cuts needed to prevent insolvency.

Some of the cuts will suffice for the next fiscal year, but the district also needs to make permanent cuts that will prevent the district from deficit spending in future fiscal years," Black said.

"One piece of this everyone should remember is this isn't just a one year lets fix 2013-14 problem," she said. "We have an immediate need to fix 2013-14, but we have a need to fix, ongoing, some of this deficit spending because of the structural problem we have. "

Due to the amount of deficit spending by the district - $7.9 million this fiscal year and $9 million next fiscal year - San Bernardino County school officials downgraded Upland Unified to a negative certification at their second interim budget.

McClowry was assigned to the district by the county to help guide them through their fiscal crisis.

She has been accepting suggestions from employees and the public on possible cuts, which were shared with the board last week.

The suggestions were broken into categories: facilities, maintenance, construction and operations; special education; district office/district wide; classified services, high school/junior high school; elementary schools; transportation; negotiated suggestions and miscellaneous.

Black said district staff is reviewing all staffing and personnel, transportation and ways to increase attendance at school sites.

The district is researching some of the suggestions to determine if they have a substantial cost savings.

"We are going to need to know the board's preference on whether or not these are things we should or should not do, whether or not they're things we need to do this coming school years or something to come at a different school year," Black said.

Many of the suggestions will require negotiations with employee groups.

About 91 percent of the district's budget is for salaries and benefits.

The district has already cut employees by 15.2 percent.

The district faces health and welfare as well as vendor costs rise every year.

Several of the suggestions included cutting personnel or staff, which Black said staff is reviewing.

"I will say that anything that has a people pieces attached to them we are looking at and determining whether or not some of those things can be done or should be done," she said.

Trustee President Wes Fifield said cuts that could be made immediately should be the highest priority.

"I think we need to focus on the things we can do now, today, and then as we go forth," he said.

The board was given an update on Gov. Jerry Brown's May Revise, which shows no relief for the district.

"This is not great news for the district unfortunately there was nothing in there that we're seeing that can basically help the district off our own fiscal cliff at this point," said Liz Seymour, the district's senior director of fiscal services.

The district receives 78 percent of their revenue from the state, which is only funding the district about 77 cents per dollar owed to them.

The school district relies on Cost of Living Adjustment funding from the state, which they have not received since the 2007-08 fiscal year, Seymour said.

As part of Brown's May Revise, the state will pay back money owed to schools more quickly, but will not be new funding, she said.

The district will also receive more funding for Common Core State Standards program, which is restricted funding and cannot be used to help alleviate the general fund.

The district's 3rd interim budget will be presented during their meeting at 7 tonight at Pioneer Junior High School, 245 W. 18th St.